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Profound tributes have been shared for the legendary Bahram Beyzai, a colossus of Persian film and stage, who passed away aged 87 in the US.

A Nation Mourns

The headlines of Iranian newspapers lament his loss, with dissenting figures and those who look back fondly on the pre-revolution period also paying homage to Beyzai.

"His passing is an immense tragedy for the cultural heritage of our country," remarked Prince Reza Pahlavi, the exiled son of the last Shah of Iran.

Although Beyzai's later films were banned in the 1980s by the theocratic government, a number of senior figures in the current government have also acknowledged his legacy to Iranian culture.

A Mentor to Filmmakers

Several of the current crop of Persian directors have expressed their gratitude to him. Award-winning director Jaafar Panahi said that Beyzai showed them "the way to resist oblivion."

Beyzai avoided direct political references in his work, both as a playwright and a cinematic auteur, and always maintained he tried not to trade in explicit commentary.

But his oeuvre over many decades places archetypal characters in conflict with authoritarian religious and political systems.

Roots in Tradition

Hailing from a lineage of renowned poets, Beyzai was steeped in the richest heritage of Persian culture from birth.

He first found fame as a theater writer, drawing on Persian legend and ritual.

A lifelong fan of cinema, he transitioned to making films in the 1970s.

He gained acclaim as one of the pivotal artists in the groundbreaking movement of Iranian cinema.

Navigating Censorship

His most fruitful era straddled the time of the Shah and then the revolutionary government that deposed him—with each regime ever ready to sniff out subtext that could be seen as dissent.

"Beyzai did not choose the easy way. He withstood years of exclusion, enforced quiet, and exile, but he did not give up his artistic voice and his beliefs," said Jaafar Panahi in his tribute.

The Little Stranger

A few years after the Iranian Revolution, he produced what many regard as his masterpiece, Bashu, the Little Stranger, about a small boy who tries to take refuge from the Iran-Iraq war.

It was banned in Iran—as were other films he made in that time—but later chosen by critics as the best Iranian film of all time.

The film was screened in a restored version at this year's Venice Film Festival, receiving an award for outstanding feature in the classics section.

Final Years in Exile

Beyzai finally left Iran in 2010 and spent his later years in the US, where he taught Persian studies.

Although he left his homeland, his wife, the actress Shamsai, said just hearing the word "Iran" would still bring tears to his eyes—and he continued to hope for a new culture and future for his homeland.